McNabb will have number retired when Reid's Chiefs visit

Tuesday

PHILADELPHIA — Thousands have worn an Eagles uniform. Just nine have had their number retired.

Former quarterback Donovan McNabb became the ninth during a Monday morning ceremony at which he officially retired as a player.

All the hard feelings McNabb may have harbored after first being booed when he was drafted second overall in 1999 to when he was traded away by the team on Easter Sunday in 2010 melted away in a series of emotional speeches inside a jammed auditorium at the NovaCare Complex.

The proceedings began with a short video tribute to McNabb, showing various highlights of his franchise-record setting career.

Owner Jeffrey Lurie then spoke first, calling McNabb “one of greatest players in the history of the Eagles and certainly the greatest quarterback in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles.”

“Simply put,” Lurie continued, “when all is said and done, this man, No. 5, Donovan McNabb was a franchise-changing quarterback and those words aren’t spoken very often.”

McNabb’s numbers speak for themselves, leading the franchise in all major passing categories.

Lurie said McNabb’s number will be retired when the Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid visit for a Thursday night game Sept. 19.

“He will be inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame and we will retire the No. 5 forever,” Lurie said. “We don’t retire numbers that often. Brian Dawkins, Donovan, these are players who have had a monumental impact on the franchise and that’s how we measure it. It’s rare, it’s happened and it’s wonderful. Donovan richly deserves it. His importance within the Eagles and the sport itself will go down in history.”

It was only last Sept. 30 that Dawkins had his No. 20 retired. As McNabb was at Dawkins’ retirement ceremony last fall, Dawkins was there for McNabb. Dawkins spoke third, after Lurie and Brian Westbrook before McNabb took his place behind the podium.

“I just so happened to be a guy who was here in Philadelphia before Donovan got here and I remember those times, I remember what those (losing) feelings felt like before (No.) 5 got here,” Dawkins said. “I remember those seasons, and when he got here how quickly this thing went on the upswing.”

McNabb spoke for about 20 minutes. He started out by saying: “Special day, special day. I’m not one for emotion, but this is pretty tough, pretty tough.”

He was emotional throughout, looking like he could break down at any minute. But he continued on bravely, with his wife and four children seated in the front row.

Afterward, he retreated to a conference room to answer more questions from reporters.

Here is some of what he had to say:

On the boos he got when he was drafted: “Let’s put the booing to rest. That was back in ‘99. That was the beginning of an era, and this is the end.”

Sidenote: Owner Jeffrey Lurie, in a sit-down with media after the main event, said the team considered taking running back Edgerrin James instead of McNabb. He said the Class of 1999 was dubbed one with franchise quarterbacks and he and new coach Andy Reid were intensely interviewing the quarterbacks.

“We didn’t have a lot of confidence in most of the quarterbacks in that draft,” Lurie said. “The only quarterback we all — and with Andy leading the way — were very confident in was Donovan and it wasn’t just his athletic ability.

“It was his years at Syracuse, his ability to learn a complicated offense, the way he was as a person, a stable family background compared to some of the other quarterbacks, both in that draft and elsewhere. It really all came together that he was the only quarterback far and above the others for us.”

On his sometimes contentious relationship with fans: “As a quarterback, you get criticized no matter what you do anyway. If you win, you didn’t throw enough completions. If you lose, it’s your fault. That is what you take on. That is the job you take, and I loved every bit of it. It never bothered me if I got criticized. It never affected anything that I did out on the field.”

Sidenote: Lurie pointed out that he remembered training camps at Lehigh where fans would sleep out the night before McNabb was scheduled for an autograph session.

On being traded: “In any marriage or any relationship you want it to sort of be storybook. ... You just don’t think it can happen to you. I thought I would retire here. The way things went with the trade left a bad taste in my mouth.”

Sidenote: McNabb said he was napping when his dad, Sam, woke him and said his agent was on the phone. He turned on the TV and saw about the trade. He called Reid and asked him who made the decision, and Reid didn’t answer him.

On Reid: “I want to thank Big Red, who probably is in camp (with the Chiefs) right now. But for taking the chance and sticking with me in ‘99. Eleven great years. We’ll forever be linked together, but that’s one of the things I can honestly say I love it. We made history, big fella.”

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